Abstract:
Arsenic is a toxic element found in groundwaters in different parts of the world (Bangladesh, Taiwan) including New Jersey.  Human exposure is typically from contaminated drinking water and regulated levels recently have been reduced from 50 ppb to 10 ppb by the EPA.  In the environment arsenic can be found as arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)], and is associated with minerals such as pyrite and in shale formations.  Mobilization of arsenic from these deposits may be a microbial process which has yet to be fully understood.  We are investigating the role of anaerobic bacteria in the reduction of As(V) to As(III) and also the role of aerobic autotrophic bacteria in the oxidation of As(III) to As(V).  In both cases energy is obtained by the microbes and growth is dependent on the present of arsenic as an electron acceptor or electron donor, respectively.  Novel pure cultures which carry out the reactions from impacted environments have been isolated and characterized.  From our observations we propose that a microbial arsenic cycle may be important to understanding the fate and transport of arsenic in environmental habitats.

Brief Biography of Dr. Lily Young
Dr. Lily Young got her BS and MS in Bacteriology at Cornell University, and received her PhD from Harvard University in Environmental Microbiology. She worked as an Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering, Dept Civil Engineering at Stanford University, and Research Professor at NYU Medical Center before joining Rutgers in 1992. Since joining Rutgers, she advised over 50 undergraduate independent research or honor theses, advised 20 graduate student theses, and sponsored 15 postgraduate scholars. As an accomplished researcher, educator, and administrator, Dr. Lily Young has also been serving as the Chair of the Department of Environmental Science since 2001, and is entitle with Professor II in Biotech Center and Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers New Brunswick since 1998. She is also serving in the Scientific Advisory Board, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, SERDP (DOD, DOE, EPA) since 1999.

Dr. Lily Young’s research is in the interdisciplinary area of Bioremediation and Biodegradation. 10 selected publications are listed below (* NSF funded publication).

So CM & LY Young. 1999.  Anaerobic degradation of alkanes by a sulfate-reducing bacterium:  isolation and characterization.  Appl Environ Microbiol 65:2969-2976.

Phelps CD LJ Kerkhof & LY Young. 1998. Molecular characterization of a sulfate-reducing consortium which mineralizes benzene. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 27:269-279.

So CM & LY Young. 1999.  Initial reactions in anaerobic alkane degradation by a sulfate reducer, strain AK01.  Appl Environ Microbiol 65:5532-5540.*

Sullivan ER, C Phelps & LY Young.  2001 Anaerobic mineralization of stable isotope labeled 2-methylnaphthalene.  Appl. Env. Microbiol. Vol. 67 No. 9: 4353-4357.

Phelps CE, J Battistelli & LY Young. 2002. Metabolic biomarkers for monitoring anaerobic naphthalene biodegradation in situ.  Environ Microbiol 4:532-537.

So CM, CD Phelps & LY Young 2003. Anaerobic transformation of alkanes to fatty acids by the sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain Hxd3.  Appl Environ Microbiol 69:3892-3900.*

Kim HS, PR Jaffe & LY Young. 2004.  Simulating biodegradation of toluene in sand-column experiments at the macroscopic and pore-level scale for aerobic and denitrifying conditions.  Adv Water Res 27:335-348.*

Liu A, E Garcia-Dominguez, ED Rhine & LY Young. 2004.  A novel arsenate respiring isolate that can utilize aromatic substrates.  FEMS Microbiol Ecol 48:323-332.*

Rhine ED, E Garcia-Dominguez & LY Young. 2005.  Environmental microorganisms can speciate and cycle arsenic.  Environ Science & Technol 39:9569-9573.*

Callaghan AV, LM Gieg, KG Kropp, HM Suflita & LY Young. 2006.  A comparison of alkane metabolism under sulfate0reducing conditions among two isolates and a bacterial consortium.  Appl Environ. Microbiol 72:4274-4282.*